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Intercultural Memory Of The Sea: Mythopoetic Figures in Turkish and Norse Traditions

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.31126/akrajournal.1753071

Authors

Serap SARIBAŞ

Reported year

2026

Reported language

tr

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:15:25.077643+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:15:25.077643+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University

Documentary abstract — original language

This study examines Turkish and Norse-Germanic maritime mythologies within an interdisciplinary theoretical framework through a method of intercultural comparison. The primary aim of the research is to analyze the cosmological, ritualistic, and gender-based semantic structures attributed to the sea in both mythological universes through a multilayered framework informed by comparative mythology, structuralist anthropology, and theories of “cultural memory.” Based on qualitative research methodology, the study employs textual analysis to evaluate cultural productions such as folk narratives, mythological texts, laments, folk songs, and contemporary visual arts through theoretical reading techniques. The theoretical foundation rests upon Julia Kristeva’s theory of “abjection,” Laura Mulvey’s conceptualiza tion of the “gaze regime,” as well as Jan Assmann’s notion of “cultural memory” and Marianne Hirsch’s concept of “postmemory.” Figures such as the Mermaid, Karakoncolos, Rán, and Jörmungandr are examined in terms of ritual interaction with nature, symbolic meanings attributed to the female body, and their role as carriers of traumatic memory. The findings demonstrate that in both cultural memory traditions, the sea is not merely a natural entity but is constructed as an ontological narrative space where themes of transformation, transition, loss, danger, and desire converge. These mythological structures are recontextualized through folk music, cinema, and visual art, shaping the aesthetic expression of ecological breakdown, migratory trauma, and fragmented identities. Figures that transgress bodily limits in maritime narratives reveal posthuman dynamics that question dominant gender systems and human-centered worldviews. In this light, maritime mythologies serve not only as symbolic memory systems but as conceptual gateways for rethinking trauma, liminality, and ontological imagination. Ultimately, maritime mythology constitutes a narrative mechanism that sustains the continuity of “cultural memory,” transforms gender representations, and regenerates cosmological memory in contemporary aesthetic forms.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W7140179940

DOI

10.31126/akrajournal.1753071

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

article

Natural entities mentioned

Sea

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

• DOI · https://doi.org/10.31126/akrajournal.1753071
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W7140179940

Documented bibliographic relations

Source-declared references and links; they do not establish legal support or UGLC qualification. Up to 20 outgoing references are displayed.

• openalex:w2033506826 · CITES
• openalex:w2169371304 · CITES
• openalex:w2316739529 · CITES
• openalex:w4242053761 · CITES
• openalex:w600502348 · CITES

0 incoming references within the detected corpus

Documentary status

Relevance pending

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